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Japan, U.S. to name ports for crisis use Satoshi Ogawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent The Japanese and U.S. governments Friday agreed to sit down and name which commercial airports and harbors will be made available for U.S. military operations in the event of emergencies in areas surrounding Japan. The agreement, confirmed during a meeting in Honolulu of senior foreign and defense officials, will complement the existing law that governs Self-Defense Forces operations to assist U.S. operations in dealing with crises in areas such as the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan Strait. In the event of emergencies in such areas, Japan, according...

Russia will by May draw up detailed plans for the financing and construction of an estimated $11.5bn oil pipeline to the Pacific following a decision over the new year to adopt a Japanese-proposed route over one that would have favoured China. The long-expected decision to build the pipeline from eastern Siberia to the Pacific, from where oil can easily be transported to Japan, will be seen as a diplomatic victory for Tokyo over Beijing. Japan and China have begun to tussle fiercely over energy resources since China recently outpaced Japan as the world's second biggest consumer, though not yet importer,...